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Bootsy Holler: MAKING IT

Leica Gallery London is pleased to present works by American artist Bootsy Holler. The exhibition features images soon to be published in the monograph MAKING IT: An Intimate Documentary of Seattle's Indie, Rock & Punk Scene, 1992-2008.

Reggie Watts before leaving Seattle for NYC, 2005

This body of work witnesses Holler's personal story as an artist in her 20s, shooting little-known bands (at the time) who later defined a decade in music history - capturing live gigs, portraits, and the remnants and landscapes of a scene that was the formative stage for groups such as Death Cab for Cutie, Fleet Foxes, Interpol, Macklemore, Modest Mouse, The Gossip and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, along with Beck, Foo Fighters- Dave Grohl, Moby, Pearl Jam, The Posies, and R.E.M.

"I lived it: the dark days, the rain, the dampness in your bones. I supported local venues, lived with a band, drank coffee, shot heroin, got pregnant, and had an abortion. This collection of images is a piece of my life while trying to make it, stay alive, and survive as a working artist, just like all these musicians."

The crowd at Bumbershoot Festival waiting for Modest Mouse, 2002

The work is a pilgrimage back in time, a nostalgic trip for anyone who remembers their 20s, cherishes music, or yearns for a time when nobody texted or had a camera in their pocket. This series transcends the boundaries of music or a single life story. It's about heeding your instincts.

"I was documenting my life. The musicians, promoters, and bouncers were my friends, and I went to see bands I enjoyed and places I could get in for free."

Karen O, lead vocalist of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs performing at Neumos, 2004

Holler was a working photographer with the personality to walk into small venues and document the music scene easily.

“I didn’t know I was in the middle of something new. Not only was the Seattle sound changing but bands from New York to California came through the clubs with an experimental and progressive energy. The kids had rebelled, and a new sound was evolving."

Dodi frontman Archie O'Connor at Holler's studio in 2000

Holler's images have appeared in numerous publications including VOGUE, House & Garden, NPR, Lenscratch, PDN, and Chinese Photographer Magazine. In 2020 she exhibited at the Shanghai International Photo Festival by invitation. She has shown nationally and internationally at such venues as The Foley Gallery , New York and the Lodge in Los Angeles, Fotofever in Paris, Photo London, The Griffin Museum of Photography, the California Museum of Photography, and the Center for Photographic Art.

Her seminal work is in the permanent collection of the Grammy Museum and she has been recognised by The Society of Photographic Journalism. Holler currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California.